• BUS

• MOTO- TAXI

• MOTORBIKES

• BIKES

• TRAIN

• CAR

• PLANE

Before the departure, it is always better to let your guests know about the culture and traditions of their destination to ensure they will have a pleasant trip. That will help them avoid offending the local population as well as have a better understanding of their new environment. Regarding Vietnam, have a look below to discover the DOs and DON’Ts
Greeting & interactions with Vietnamese

• For a Vietnamese, it is important to know the age of a person, before their job or even their wealth, as it is what defines their status. Thus, being ‘old’ is a positive attribute in Vietnam and asking a person how old they are is something common and well appreciated.
  When out in public
• Please ask permission from locals before taking a photo. Particularly in the countryside or in the high lands.
• Keep smiling. Being rude to bargain/negotiate prices won’t help you. Traditionally, people in Vietnam (as in other Asian countries) are conditioned to control their emotions and keep calm in order to save face
• Any affectionate physical contact between men and women is not appropriate in public. It is better to avoid showing your affection in public
  When visiting a temple or a pagoda
• Take off your shoes and socks before entering any religious place. Let them both at the entrance and walk barefoot in the temple or the pagoda.
• Wear tee-shirt and shorts hiding at least your shoulders and your knees. Ideally, to avoid any problem wear trousers.
• Don’t wear hats or caps in the temples and pagodas
  When invited to someone’s home
• Traditionally, when you want to offer something to someone or when you receive a gift/object from someone, you have to use both hands.
• Never hammer (tap) your chopsticks into your food (rice). This gesture reminds people of a ritual performed during a funeral.

LOCAL CURRENCY: VIETNAM DONG (VND)

The money in Vietnam is the Vietnam Dong. You can find notes of 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000, 50 000, 100 000 and 500 000 VND. The official exchange rate is $1 = 23 250 VND  (January 2019)

MONEY SUGGESTIONS

Major currencies can be exchanged practically anywhere in Vietnam, but not all exchange facilities are created equal. It can be easily exchanged in authorized shop and the banks (Vietcombank, BIDV, Techcombank etc..). Banks in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will let change foreign currencies and most travelers’ checks.

Always bring new notes; any damaged or dirty notes will be charged an additional two percent of the note’s face value.

ATM AND CREDIT CARDS

International credit/debit cards such as VISA and MASTERCARD are accepted in most ATMs and shops/stores that accept card payments. With a foreign card, a small percentage of the amount withdrawn/paid will be charged; however this amount remains quite low. The money withdrawn at ATMs is always in Vietnam Dong.

TRAVELER CHEQUES

Only banks located in big cities such as (Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh) keep accepting traveler cheques. We recommend you to have another means of payment.

BARGAINING

Bargaining is part of the Vietnamese tradition. You have to bear in mind that everything (or almost everything) is worth a certain price, but the price varies (sometimes a lot) according to the client. You can be sure that with your foreign face you won’t be offered the best price… so bargaining is essential! You can even halve the price or even more sometimes. Be careful, however, not to offend the vendor and to keep smiling and stay polite in any circumstance. Don’t push too much and do not bargain in any place it is not welcome: shops with fixed prices are not open to negotiation.

TIPS

Tips are not part of the tradition of Vietnam. However, in some situations and thanks to the many generous travelers that have preceded you, tipping is becoming more popular.

For example, you can tip your guide after a whole day or several days of travel. You can also tip luggage porters and taxi drivers.

It is not usual to tip a waitress/ waiter.

When visiting temples or pagodas, you will usually see some donation boxes near the entrance/exit in which you can place some money. In this case, we do not call it tips but donations, dedicated to the maintenance of the site. Vendors and other people within the venue may also invite you to pray with them with an incense stick, but if you accept, some of them will likely ask you for some money in exchange.

Vaccinations

Officially, no vaccinations are required to enter Vietnam apart from travelers coming from countries with yellow fever transmission risks. However, if you travel to Vietnam you should do everything possible and take all required precautions to avoid becoming ill during your trip. Make sure that all your vaccinations are current and that you are vaccinated for Tetanus, Polio and Diphtheria. Other vaccines recommended include Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B (if you are in-country for over 3 months), Typhus and Tuberculosis, vaccinations against rabies and Japanese encephalitis are also advised.

Health Advice

• Drink plenty of fluids during the day (2 liters).
• Do not drink tap water in Vietnam. Only bottled water is drinkable.
• Wash your hands frequently
• Avoid eating unpeeled fruit or raw vegetables and ice.
• Most important: trust your gut feeling. If you don’t like your food, stop eating and do a double check when eating from street vendors.

– Keep a pull-over with you to cover yourself when the air conditioning is too cold or for cooler nights outside

Your home embassy may be able to assist with advice during emergencies or serious problems. You might want to register if possible before you arrive so that the embassy staff will know where to reach you in case of emergency at home. If calling a Myanmar emergency number you may have to ask the aid of a Burmese speaker because there might not be an English-speaking operator on the line:
Ambulance: 115
Fire department: 114
Police: 113